Letting to contractors: what owners should know before the first stay

Letting to contractors is a different job from letting to holidaymakers. The people staying are at work all day, often for weeks, and what makes their stay go well is not what makes a good weekend away.

This guide is for owners and landlords thinking about renting to contractors and other people working away from home, and much of it applies to serviced apartments too. It covers how a working stay runs, setting a property up for people on shifts, house rules that suit them, and who to ask before the first stay. If you are thinking of offering a property, our page on how to let your property to contractors covers what we look for and who stays; this guide does not repeat it.

How a working stay differs from a holiday let

The difference is the rhythm of the week rather than the people.

Neither is better for a property. They just make different things matter: blackout blinds more than a view, a drying rack more than a hot tub, and a house guide that answers practical questions more than a list of places to visit.

Setting a property up for people on shifts

Most of this is small, and all of it makes a real difference to someone working long days. Treat it as practical advice, not as a standard a property is measured against.

Bedrooms people can sleep in during the day

Somebody on nights sleeps while the street is awake. Blackout blinds or curtains, a door that shuts properly and a bedroom away from the front door make the difference between sleeping and lying awake.

Hot water for a morning rush

When everyone starts at the same time, the bathroom decides the morning. Hot water that keeps up with several showers in a row matters more than anything about the finish.

Somewhere for boots, coats and kit

Work boots, high-visibility clothing and wet gear need somewhere to go that is not the hall carpet. A boot rack, a row of hooks and a way to dry clothes indoors on a wet week look after the property as much as the guests.

Bins for people who live there

A house lived in for weeks produces more rubbish and recycling than a weekend let does. Enough bins, and the collection day written down where people will see it, save an awkward conversation with the neighbours.

A short house guide written for the first week

How the heating and hot water work, the Wi-Fi details, where the stopcock and fuse box are, the bin day and the parking arrangement. One page on the kitchen wall answers the questions people would otherwise ring about.

An arrival that works at ten at night

People often arrive late, after a day at work and a long drive, and leave before it is light. Clear directions, a way in that does not depend on someone being there, and an obvious place to park take the stress out of the first night.

House rules that suit working guests

Clear rules set before anyone arrives are easier on everybody than rules made up after a problem. Keep them short, keep them about the property and the street, and put them in the house guide.

• Vehicles. How many the property can take, where they go, and whether a van can park on the drive or the street. Agree the number before the stay rather than on the first night.
• Quiet for the street. In a terrace or a block of flats, doors and engines at six in the morning carry. Ask for vans to be loaded quietly and engines not left running.
• Smoking and vaping. Whether either is allowed anywhere at the property, and if so where.
• Overnight guests. Whether anyone other than the people staying may sleep at the property.
• Tools and materials. Whether anything may be kept at the property overnight, and where. Ask your insurer what they expect before you say yes.

These are your rules for the property. How a crew organises itself inside a shared house, from who gets which room to how the kitchen works, is a different set, covered in our guide to sharing accommodation on a project.

Telling the neighbours

A house that suddenly has two vans outside and people leaving before it is light gets noticed. A word with the neighbours before the first stay, saying that people working nearby will be staying and roughly for how long, and giving them a way to reach you if something bothers them, heads off most complaints before they start.

Who to ask before the first stay

Before the first stay, a few questions to a few people are worth the time. The rules are different in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, they can differ between a tenancy and a short stay, and they change, so get the answer for your own property rather than relying on a general guide, this one included.

Your local council

Whether letting this kind of property, for this kind of stay, needs a licence, a registration or planning permission where you are.

Your mortgage lender, and your freeholder or managing agent

Whether your mortgage, or the lease of a flat, allows the property to be let in this way, and whether you need their consent first.

Your insurer

Whether your policy covers the property while it is let to people working away from home, and what they need to be told about it.

A qualified safety professional

Which safety checks and certificates apply to your property and this kind of let, for example for gas, electrics, fire safety and energy performance, and how often they are renewed.

An accountant

How letting the property affects your tax, and which records are worth keeping from the first stay.

This guide is not legal or tax advice.

Common questions

Does a property need furnishing differently for contractors?

Not differently so much as with a different eye. Picture a weeknight after a long shift rather than a weekend away: furniture that stands up to daily use, somewhere to put work gear and bedrooms that go dark count for more than decoration.

Will the people staying be there at weekends?

Sometimes. Some crews go home every weekend, some work straight through, and some stay over when a job runs on. Ask before the stay starts, because it changes when you can clean and when you can get into the property.

Should the property be cleaned during a long stay?

Agree it before the stay rather than during it. On a stay of weeks, a clean and a change of linen at agreed intervals keep the property in good order and let you see how it is being looked after. Whatever you decide, say so up front, so nobody is surprised by a knock at the door.

Can a property take working stays and holiday stays?

That is your decision. The two want slightly different things, so think about the changeovers, the cleaning and the house rules for each, and be clear in advance which dates are open to which kind of stay.

In short

A working stay runs to the rhythm of the working week. Set the property up for sleep, hot water, kit and late arrivals; agree short house rules about vehicles, noise, smoking, overnight guests and tools; tell the neighbours; and put your questions to the council, your lender, your insurer, a safety professional and an accountant before the first guest arrives.